RCM Technologies has more than doubled its office space on the second floor of the Kincardine municipal administrative centre.

Tuesday, the company welcomed a small crowd to celebrate the expansion, with an official ribbon-cutting, as well as speeches and refreshments.

RCM Technologies has had two offices and five employees in a 1,500-square-foot space at this location for several years. Now, it has almost 4,000 square feet of space and plans to have up to 20 employees within six months. It also has 40 employees on the Bruce Power site. The company does engineering and design work and some project management work, mainly for Pickering and Bruce Nuclear.

Rocco Campanelli, president and chief executive officer of RCM Technologies, thanked everyone for coming to the celebration.

"RCM is a 35-year-old company, specializing in engineering and information technology," he said. "We have four offices in Canada - two in Pickering, one in Mississauga, and this one here in Kincardine."

He said RCM first came to Bruce County in 2001 and began working with Bruce Power. "We started shortly after the refurbishment began on Bruce A's Units 3 and 4. We did engineering, procurement, and construction management. Then, we came back to work on Units 1 and 2. You see, an engineering company is not successful until the project is completed and working. Bruce Power has been one of our best clients and a long-term client."

Campanelli actually moved, with his wife, to Point Clark in 2003 when RCM was working on Units 3 and 4. "We loved it here, but I found I was working long hours while my wife was enjoying the beach." They now live in New Jersey.

He said RCM's senior vice-president Dan White came to Canada 15 years ago - on a six-month assignment - and never left.

Clayton McLean, RCM's vice-president of Bruce Power projects, is relocating to Bruce County, as Bruce Power ramps up for its Major Component Replacement (MCR) project, beginning in 2020, said Campanelli. "We appreciate being Bruce Power's partner on this project."

Kincardine mayor Anne Eadie congratulated RCM on its office expansion in Kincardine, and presented Campanelli with a plant for the new office.

"We're excited about the economic development opportunities happening in the municipality," she said. "This is a wonderful building, and we're glad you haven chosen to expand your office here. We welcome your new staff to Kincardine and hope they will make this their home.

"These are exciting times, with so many things going on, and we are pleased to see the Bruce Power suppliers establishing a local presence and boosting the local economy. This will make everything better and stronger in the Municipality of Kincardine."

Bruce Power president and chief executive officer Mike Rencheck said it's heart-warming to see such a great turn-out in support of RCM's expansion in Kincardine. And he is thrilled to see the fruition of that Economic Development Summit held last fall, as offices are opened in existing buildings and new offices are being built, in the region.

"Eight companies have already moved in and there are more down the road," he said, adding his congratulations to RCM Technologies. "We appreciate the talent you bring into this area."

Campanelli then picked up the large silver scissors and sliced through the fancy ribbon to officially open the expanded office.

RCM Technologies also presented a $5,000 donation to the Saugeen First Nation Food Bank.